Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1887-08-06
He drank it, and fe,t decidedly better.

He drank IT, and felt decidedly better.
HDear mel" said Mrs. Neville, "there ore n
pair Of you now. You should Just have seen
that girl go down when size saw the body
coming along the roadl 1 made sure that It
was you; but it wasn't. They say that r
was poor Jim Smith, son of old Smith of
Rustenburg. tell you what it is Capt.
Mel you bad better be careful; if that girl
isn't in love with you, she is something very
like it. A girl does not pop over like that for
Dick, Tom or Harry. You must forgive an
old woman like me for speaking out plain, but
she Is an odd girl is Jess, just like ten women
rolled into one so far as her mind goes and if
you don't take care you will get into trouble,
which will be rather awkward, as you are
going to marry her sister. jess isn't q girlto
have bit Of a dirt to pass away the time and
have done with it, can tell you;" and she
shook her head solemnly, as though she sus-
I peeted him Of trifing with his future sister
in laws Young affections, and then, without
waiting for an answer. turned and went into
the cottage.
As for John, he only groaned. What could
he do but groana The whole thing was self
evident, and IL ever q man felt ashamed of
imself that man was John Mel He was a
hICtiJ uOhofdUio uiuiNluu huu IL cut MIN
the heart to think that he had entered
q course which was not honorable,
,lsidering his engagement to Bessie
hen he. few minutes before, had
Id jess he loved her he had said a
sgraceful thing, however true thing it
night be. And that was the worst Of it; it
vas true; he did love her. He felt It come
weeping over him like wave as she stood
here looking ut him III the room, utterly
irowning and overpowering his affection for
Bessie, to whom he was bound by every tie Of
honor. 1t was a new and wonderful thing,
LES passion that had arisen within him, as a
trong man armed, and driven every other
affection away into the waste places Of his
mind; and, unfortunately, it was an overmas-
tering and, as he already guessed, an endur-
ng thing. He cursed himself in his shame
nd anger as he sat there recovering his equi
l.5rium on. the broken chair and tying
handkerchief tight round his wound. What
fool he had beenl Why had he not waited
to see which of the two he really took toi
Why had Jess gone away like that and
thrown him into temptation with her pretty
sister2 He was sure now that she had cared
for him all along. Well, there it was, and Q
precious bad business tool One thing be was
clear about; 1t should go no further He was
not going to break his engagement to Bessie;
it was not to be thought Of. But, all the
same, he felt sorry for himself and sorry for
Jess too.
Just then. however, the bandage on his leg
slipped. and the wound began to bleed 50 fast
that he was fain to limp into the house for as
sistance. .'. ,'-. a
Jeaa, who had apparently quite got over
her agitation, was standing by the table talk.
ing to Mrs. Neville, who was persuading her
TO swallow some Of the brandy she had been
at such pains to fetch. The moment she
caught sight Of Johns face, which had now
turned ghastly white, and saw the red line
trickling down his boot, she took up her hat
taat was lying or the table,
"You had better lie down on the old bed
stead in the little room," she said; Il am
going for the doctor"
Assisted by Mrs Neville, he Was only toe
glad to takc this advice, but long before the
doctor arrived John had followed Jess
example, and, to the intense alarm of Mrs.
Neville, who was vainly endeavoring to
check the flow of blood, which had now be-
come copious, gone off into dead faint On
the arrival of the doctor it appeared that the
bullet had grazed the walls of one of the
arteries on the inside of the thigh without
actually cutting them, but that they had now
given way, which rendered it necessary to
tie the artery This operation, with the
assistance of cbloroform, he proceeded to
successfully carry out on the spot, announc-
ing afterward that a great deal Of blood had
already been lost.
When at last it was over, Mrs. Neville
asked about John being moved up to the
hospital, but the doctor declared that he
must stop where he was. and that jess must
stop and belp to nurse him. with the assist
ance Of soldiers wife he would send down.
Dear me-" said Mrs. Neville, "that Is very
awkward"
sit will be awkwarder if you try TO move
him at present." was the grim reply, 'for the
silk may slip, i'll which case the artery will
probably break out again, and he will bleed
to death"
AS for jess, she said nothing, but set to
work to make preparations for her task of
nursing. As fate had once more thrown
them together, she accepted the position
gladly, though it is only fair TO say that she
would not have sought it.
In about an hours time, Just as John was
beginning to recover from the painful effects
Of the chloroform, the soldiers wife who was
TO assist her In nursing arrived. She was, as
Jess soon discovered, not only low stamp OF
woman, but both careless and ignorant into
the bargain, and all that she could be relied
on to do was to carry out some Of the rougheI
work Of the sick room. When John woke u,
and discovered whose was the presence th,i
was bending over him and whose the Coz
hand that lay upon his forehead, he groane,
again and went to sleep. But Jess did not &
to sleep. She sat by him there throughou,
the night. until at Last the cold lights Of tn
dawn came cleaning through the windov
and fen upon the white face Of the man ST
loved. He was still sleeping soundly, and, I
the night was exceedingly hot and oppressive.
she had left nothing but sheet over him
Before she went to rest a little herself she
turned to look at him once more, and as she
did so saw the sheet suddenly grow red with
blood. The artery had broken out again.
Calling to the soldiers wife to run across
to the doctor, jess shcok her patient until he
woke, for he was sleeping sweetly through
the whole thing, and would, no doubt, have
continued to do SO until he glided into
deeper sleep; and then between them they did
what they could to quench that dreadful